Poco-Cocoa – Page 192 – Things & Stuff

I found the USB cable!

Or, actually, Justin found it. So now you get photos!

But first, I want to thank all of you for your sweet comments. I didn’t expect that what I wrote would resonate with so many people, but I’m glad it did. I’m happy to be with all of you on this journey toward a good, simple life…it’s nice to know there are others out there dealing with the same pressures and expectations and realities. And it’s so good to be blogging again!

This weekend Justin and I walked downtown to eat lunch at Whole Foods. I was so excited because they’ve added a “Pick Your Own Fruit” bar at the raw foods section, and they have really awesome fruits like cherries and golden raspberries and mango.

We sat down on the rooftop patio to eat, but the sky was so menacing that we ducked inside, and not a moment too soon…it poured for about 20 minutes.

After the rain, we walked to the Austin Wine Festival, where we tasted a lot of Texas wines. My conclusion is that there aren’t many Texas wines that I really like. 🙂 It was fun, nonetheless.

On the way home, we stopped at Amy’s for some ice cream…I had Mexican Vanilla with oreos, and Justin had strawberry with chocolate chunks. We got a free topping because I knew the movie quote of the day… “What are you looking at?” “Your leg. I’d like to break it.” Anyone? (It’s Willow! I forgot how fun that movie is!)

Molly tagged me for this meme, so here goes:

7 Weird and Random Things About Me

1. I don’t like talking on the phone. I would much rather write, or talk in person. I have no idea why, it just seems like I’m always trying to find something interesting to say.

2. I don’t like driving. Which means I’m really not a great driver, because I just want to get there and get out of the car. Which means I might drive a little fast. (Just a little.)

3. I scream EVERY time I see a roach. No matter how far away it is, how small, how harmless. I’m not a fan of bugs.

4. I don’t like to keep score when playing games. I tend to feel bad if I’m winning and sad if I’m not.

5. I really have to be in the mood to watch TV or listen the radio. It all seems so loud and invasive, and I prefer quiet.

6. When I was little, we had goats and chickens and a mean, mean rooster.

7. I don’t like to tag people for memes. 🙂

One more photo for you:

Justin ran a 30k trail run. That’s something like 18 miles. And he’s doing it again this Sunday, and I think he’s a little crazy, but I’m going to go watch him anyway and pass him water and goo packets and kisses. Amazingly, he always looks this happy after a run:

Happy Tuesday, internets!

May 29, 2007

Edibles, Random Thoughts
Hello?

So, a month? Is that too long for an unexplained, unplanned blog break? I worry that it is, but hopefully it’s not. I’m so sorry, dear internets, for being away for so long.

How to begin to explain where I’ve been? I’d love to show you photos, but I can’t, for reasons I’ll explain later…

*We have turned our apartment upside down. It started with “Hey, let’s re-paint the bedroom!” And once we had done that, we thought, “Hey, let’s get rid of some of this junk!” Which then turned into, “Hey, let’s get rid of some of this furniture and find some new stuff!” So for the past month, people, (a month!) we’ve been repainting, de-junking, furniture shopping, and spring cleaning. Every night, every weekend, has been spent either elbow-deep in junk or out and about looking for the perfect bed. Or couch. Or ottoman. Or table. Finally, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. We have gotten rid of a TON of junk…a futon, a bookshelf, our kitchen table and chairs, blankets, clothes, games, books, doodads…we are having a tag sale with some friends on June 9th, so it all should be gone by then. We still have a few bits of stuff hanging around, but we’re working on it. There’s a lot more room here in our tiny place now, and it’s so much more inviting to us. Though I’m still looking for the camera USB cable.

*Work has been super-hectic, with lots of new business and not enough employees. Everyone is loaded with tasks and stretched super-thin, but I think that will smooth out soon enough. We are hiring new people and the summer rush should be over soon. Sometimes I’m at work late, and other times I get home so fried that all I want to do is sit on the couch and stare out into space. But I’m learning to manage it all now, finally. I can’t believe it is taking me this long to adjust to working full time. It’s been 6 months already! But I try to remember what my friend Lindsay says: “It will never be easy, Crystal, to work full time and have a well-kept home.” There is just not enough time in my day to commute, work, cook fabulous meals, sew, knit, write letters, blog, clean, pack lunches…I’m beginning to come to terms with that, I think. My little apartment will never be as perfect as my home was when I was growing up, when my mom stayed home to take care of us and make our lunches and bake us cakes and keep everything clean and wonderful. Not if I want to work, too. And that’s okay.

*I’ve started freelance writing for the local Onion, writing little blurbs about restaurants. Believe it or not, I worry about this a lot — something that should be simple and quick turns into an evening-long affair. I want to visit the place several times. I want to find great hidden details. I want to write the perfect blurb. You know me…if good is great then perfection is better. 🙂

So now I’m making a new plan for my time. We all know how good I am at sticking to plans, but let’s give it a shot nonetheless.

1. I will not buy junk. I will buy only what I love, what makes me happy, and, in the case of clothes, what will easily match with black or gray. (I’m horrible at matching.)

2. I will realize that many of the amazing bloggers out there with fabulous crafts and fabulous food may not work full-time, may have more time on their hands for crafts and cooking. I will not compare myself to them.

3. I will not restrict my blogging to just food and crafts. This will be simply a place for me, my thoughts, my life. Though that may include food and crafts.

4. I will not torture myself over making “blog-worthy” food or new recipes every day. I’ve been inspired by Molly’s post here, about eating simply and enjoying it more.

5. I will not feel defeated when my house is not spotless, when we don’t have perfectly packed lunches, or when we go out for dinner because we’re just too tired to cook.

6. I will not agonize over every article or blog post I write.

7. I will just be.

Let’s see if that works.

May 27, 2007

Random Thoughts
Tea for two

Last weekend Leti and I spent the whole day shopping at The Domain, a new fancy-schmancy shopping area in North Austin. It has stores like Neiman Marcus and Louis Vuitton and Tiffany’s. It also has one little local shop in that corridor of corporate greatness: The Steeping Room.

We decided to be Ladies Who Lunch, and stopped in to The Steeping Room for an early afternoon tea service. It was so much fun! It’s a small place, with lots of two-tops, high ceilings, and a clean, minimalist feel. The waitstaff is very friendly, and quite helpful when it comes to choosing from their huge list of teas. I wish I could remember which teas we had…Leti’s was flowery and light, while mine was deeper and more mellow with a hint of toasted rice.

Leti’s tea service came with chicken spring rolls, peanut sauce, chile paste, and a small cabbage salad. For dessert, she had fresh, ripe berries and a matcha-dusted brownie that was so rich and gooey that even the two of us, certified chocolate fiends, could only finish a third of it.

My tea service came with lovely tea sandwiches, crustless, on wheat bread. I chose the chicken salad, made crunchy by the addition of water chestnuts, and the hummus sandwich, smoky and delectable with slices of cucumber. I also had berries, a slice of dense lemon cake, and a perfect plum and pine nut scone, served with fresh strawberry jam and the sweetest, creamiest butter I’ve ever tasted.

It was the perfect lunch, light but not light, decadent in a different way…we loitered over bites of scone and sips of tea, then headed back out to shop some more. If you find yourself in the Domain, I’d highly recommend stopping in to The Steeping Room.

And to all of you out there who work so hard to keep businesses running smoothly, Happy Administrative Professionals Day!

April 25, 2007

Austin, Edibles
Just a quick post to say…

**Weekends are the BEST.

**Meeting your blog-readers ROCKS. (Hi Anne!)

**A day full of shopping = an empty wallet

**An evening spent talking with your oldest friend is sometimes just what you need

**Sleeping late = not being able to fall asleep that night = writing random nonsense on your blog at 2:00 a.m.

🙂

April 22, 2007

Random Thoughts
Cheesy mac

We made this stovetop mac & cheese a few nights ago, and it was perfectly cheesy. At first I was a bit bothered by the sharpness of the Cheddar, but by day two, I though the cheese had mellowed out enough to be scrumptious. I’d definitely make this again, maybe with broccoli instead of the tomatoes and a milder cheese. It’s a good basic mac and cheese recipe.

I got swap goodness today from my swap partner, Brenda. I had joined Marta’s mellow + yellow swap, and it was a lot of fun. We were to send at least three things of one color to our partner, and it was nice to be limited to just one color. The resulting package ended up being very pretty! I forgot to take a photo of the goodies I sent Brenda, so hopefully she’ll post a photo when she receives it.

The weather has been so nice here in Austin…not too hot, not too cold. I’m enjoying it, because I know it won’t last long…the horrible, hot summer will be here soon. Yesterday Justin and I walked downtown to the Fine Arts Festival, then stopped for barbecue and fresh fruit at Whole Foods. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on our little patio. Now that we’ve finished that book, I think we’re moving on to A Wrinkle In Time, which neither of us has read before. I’ve heard it’s a great book, so I’m really looking forward to it.

I’ve also joined in Felicia’s efforts to bring back hand-written letters by adopting a few pen pals. I’m so excited! There are few things in life that I love more than finding fun mail in my mailbox. In fact, I’m off to gather some letter-writing supplies for lunchtime letters. Good night, everyone!

April 16, 2007

Edibles, Recipes

I found the USB cable!

Hello?

Tea for two

Just a quick post to say…

Cheesy mac